Art, Technology, Industry, Coast or Town - you decide

Amazing stories, amazing collections! Museums are jam packed with facinating stories of the people and places that make up Cornwall's rich and varied heritage. Be inspired to become part of that story and get involved in a museum.

Discover Cornwall's Unique Heritage

Discover the diverse and varied heritage of Cornwall through museums!
We can guarantee to tell you something new. We even have pasties and surfboards!

Bring the family - everyone welcome

Welcome to Museums in Cornwall!

Cornwall is a land of museums and many of these are run entirely by volunteers and enthusiasts. Reflecting a strong sense of place, these museums and their objects tell the story of Cornwall and its people from prehistory to the present day through the things our ancestors left behind.

Did you know that Garibaldi left his cloak behind when he received a hero's welcome in Cornwall and that the House of Commons was lit for 60 years by limelight, a Cornish invention? Or that Newlyn and St Ives hosted international art colonies while Cornish miners left in droves for a better life overseas?

We hope that this web site will inspire you to get out and about to explore the real Cornwall. Cornish museums are more than just wet weather refuges, they are also an excellent place to recover from too much sun.

Latest museum news

Since the re-opening of Padstow New Museum on the 6th of October the footfall has been unbelievable in just four weeks we have recorded almost 2000 visitors mainly adults, during half term child entries increased considerably.

Visitors to Perranporth are largely unaware that the massive rock arches of Droskyn that flank the beach and feature ubiquitously on postcards and publicity material are not natural formations but instead the inner workings of ancient and historic mines exposed by increasing coastal erosion.